NH 1B

Batote-Doda-Kishtwar road link, known as National Highway 1B, has become a source of headache for the R&B Department of the State. This is a very difficult and dangerous surface connectivity in State, and almost a death trap for the commuters. The mountains through which the road has been cut are steep, unstable and prone to land and mud slides during the rainy season. There is hardly a summer or winter when parts of the road are not washed away by the landslides and the maintenance agency has to put in good deal of effort to maintain it.
Actually, its maintenance was given in the hands of Border Roads Organization. But the work of BRO was so slow and tardy that it became necessary to change the complexion and on the repeated requests of the BRO, maintenance and upkeep of the road was handed over to the Roads and Buildings Department of the State. However, in the meanwhile the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways decided to take this Highway from the R&B and give it in the care of the newly formed National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) which is a subsidiary of the Ministry. However, on ground, the NHIDCL did not actually take over the road and expressed reservations in doing so on the plea that it had first to set up its regular branch on the spot in Jammu. Thus the R&B was forced to continue the maintenance of the Highway without being budgeted for this head of expenditure. So far, the R&B has spent 8 crore rupees on the maintenance of the Highway.
The question is that firstly the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has made two shifts in its policy within a short span of time. First, it decided to take over the road from R&B, and soon after that, it decided to wait till NHIDCL would establish a branch in the State. This quick shift in big decisions is inexplicable. However, assuming that the Ministry had some compulsions and wanted time to proceed with the project, its moral duty was to tell the R&B to continue with maintenance work of the road and it would defray the cost of maintenance. In that case, the R&B would be assured that funds would flow and maintenance of the road would not suffer in anyway.
The situation on the ground is that the State Government has not budgeted the maintenance of this Highway because it was in the control of BRO. After it was handed over to the R&B, the State Government would do its budgeting in a formal manner when the budget would be presented. However, before that could happen, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways signaled that it would take over the NH1. Thus the matter of budgeting the maintenance of the road was again deferred. At the end of the day, neither there is budgeting for road maintenance with the R&B nor is the NHIDCL taking it over. What then is the fate of the Highway? If this is the factual position, then it becomes the responsibility of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to intervene and resolve the deadlock. There is absolutely no sense in sleeping over the matter because this is a road highly vulnerable to the vagaries of weather. Life of millions of people in three districts of Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar is involved. This Highway cannot survive a monsoon without regular repairs and maintenance. True, there is a plan of building an alternate connectivity. But that will take a long time. The survey has to be made and approved and when all formalities are completed and land acquisition is done, then alone will the construction work begin. How can people of the region wait that long?
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is well advised to understand the urgency of asking the NHIDCL not to waste more time in taking over the Highway and begin its repair work. In case, it feels that this agency will take long time to establish its branch in the State, then it should undertake to meet all the maintenance expenditures which are incurred by the R&B. Furthermore, it should categorically ask the R&B to carry out all repair work that is needed to keep the road open round the year notwithstanding its vulnerability to weather conditions.

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